Cleveland Browns 2019 NFL Draft: Sheldrick Redwine grade, reaction

The Cleveland Browns used their fourth-round pick on Miami safety Sheldrick Redwine. It meets a need, but what is our instant reaction and draft grade?

Heading into the 2019 NFL Draft, there was little doubt that the safety position needed to be addressed. The Cleveland Browns have their starters with Damarious Randall and Morgan Burnett, but with Burnett being 30 years of age, they needed to add some youth to develop.

With their first pick, they added a corner which was the bigger need but back on the clock in the third round, it seemed like they should address the position — with Chauncey Gardner-Johnson being the guy most fans coveted.

Cleveland took linebacker Sione Takitaki instead, which made adding a safety in the fourth round seem like a must. There was a run early in the round, with CGJ coming off the board as well as Amani Hooker from Iowa.

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With them off the board, Sheldrick Redwine became the next best option and the Browns jumped at the chance to take him at No, 119. Overall, they landed a good player and Redwine had a great senior season with 64 tackles and three picks as a senior.

According to Lance Zierlien, he has the skills to develop into a starter, as long as he can improve in coverage.

"“Aggressive, versatile safety who lacks consistency in coverage, but who possesses the ball skills and run support ability to challenge for a starter’s role in time. Redwine’s lapses in coverage stem more from a lack of urgency than talent and that might be correctable. In run support and as a tackler in general, he plays behind heavy pad and handles his work with an NFL level physicality. He’s better suited in split-zone or down in the box and could become a key cog of the special teams until he gets his shot to start.” — Zierlein, NFL.com"

There could be an argument that Cleveland should have tried to move up again in order to drat Gardner-Johnson, but that could be nitpicky. The fact is, they added a player at a position of need who has a shot to become a starter down the road.

Championship teams are built by finding starters in the mid-rounds and this seems like a pick that could become exactly that. Still, it feels like they waited a round too late to address the position. This choice looks better though if Takitaki becomes a star linebacker, but in a vacuum, it’s a solid value pick.

Grade: B-